1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods that are used to sell lottery tickets.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since its creation, the Internet has been considered to be a viable and effective system for distribution of information to large numbers of people. Despite its wide acceptance as an information distribution system, however, Internet service providers have faced significant challenges in terms of establishing sites and corresponding services that can enhance the features of the Internet and which can be used to generate revenue. In many respects, the challenges facing Internet service providers (ISPs) result from difficulties in establishing and operating successful sites that can reliably generate revenue related to repeat business. As such, since most information on the Internet is distributed for free, it has become difficult to establish Internet sites (e.g., web sites) that attempt to charge online customers for information and other services.
As ISPs and other service providers wrestle with creating and establishing sites that can reliably generate revenue from repeat sales network users have become increasingly reliant on the "free" nature of the Internet. To establish revenue generating sites, ISPs have established a wide range of online service offerings ranging from the sale of travel related services (e.g., airline tickets) to subscriptions for network content channels that deliver otherwise unavailable information. In most cases, however, such service offerings are restricted by fierce competition and availability of similar, free information from other network sites.
A service area that has not been tapped by ISPs is the sale and distribution of lottery tickets on behalf of state-run lottery commissions. Currently, there exists no system for the sale and distribution of lottery tickets online. It is well known that lottery ticket sales generate large sums of money for state-run programs. And, it is well-known that sales of lottery tickets create significant commission revenue for authorized lottery ticket selling agents. Such sales result from repeat customers who regularly purchase tickets. Unfortunate for ISPs, is the fact that many of the lottery tickets sold by lottery ticket sales agents are bearer instruments--the bearer of a winning ticket is entitled to receive payment if his ticket contains a winning number or code relative to a particular lottery game or drawing. The Internet does not lend itself to sale and distribution of instruments (official or otherwise) like bearer instruments because there are no ways to ensure that a document printed by a person's printer, for example, is authentic. Accordingly, ISPs have heretofore been unable to establish themselves as lottery ticket sales agents because they have been unable to effectively deal with the nature of lotteries and the conventional, bearer nature of lottery tickets. As such, ISPs have heretofore not been able to establish Internet sites (e.g., web sites) which can be accessed by network users on a regular basis to purchase lottery tickets and which can be used to reliably generate revenue from repeat business and lottery ticket sales commissions.
Thus, there exists a need to provide systems and methods for facilitating the purchase and sale of lottery tickets online. To be viable, such systems and methods must facilitate the sale of lottery tickets without distributing bearer-type tickets and like.